If you’ve been keeping up with the region’s news since 2019, Lebanon’s excruciating situation really needs no introduction. A distressing humanitarian crisis is taking place in the Cedar country and it has soared through the nation’s social classes making many want to emigrate and leave for good.
According to the global analytics and advice firm Gallup, the institute has revealed in a recent report that 63 percent of the country’s nationals would want to leave the country permanently if given the opportunity. And we can’t blame them. With around 85 percent that find it difficult to make ends meet and 74 percent experiencing stress, anger and sadness on a regular basis, it’s becoming increasingly clear that life is far from being easy in the country that was once known as the Switzerland of the Middle East.
Unable to provide its citizens with the right and adequate needs, the Lebanese government has been aimed at for some time now and given the numbers, we can understand why. The same report claims that statistics related to poverty have nearly doubled since 2019. The local currency, the Lebanese Lira, has lost approximately 90 percent of its overall value and has made it awfully challenging for most citizens to get by on their wages and to afford basic necessities such as food or rent. Not to mention the ongoing fuel and power shortages which has made prices skyrocket in the past few months.
The general feeling can, unfortunately, be echoed by most across the Arab World. Back in 2019 already, a study led by BBC Arabic stated that more than half of the region’s youth wanted to flee their home country. 70 percent of young Moroccan nationals claimed to consider a life-long move with similar numbers being beamed from neighbouring countries too.
As the situation in the region continues without improving, a real push for change is more than needed before we get to a regrettable point of no return.
